Professional sports seems to offer the cynics among us plenty of reasons to shake their heads in disgust. Public tirades and fist-fights, exorbitant contracts and labor disputes, the myriad temptations of glamorous, high-profile lifestyles, ear-bitings and coach-chokings all cast something of a pall over national pastimes that once seemed theatres for heroism, teamwork and loyalty.
Bill Bradley, in his celebrated book, Values of the Game, insists that those positive values are what make sports more than just mere entertainment, and that they are still alive and well. Ten essays in appreciation, Values of the Game focuses on such ideals as commitment, patience and sacrifice as core values that sports both demand and develop in anyone who wishes to succeed. The true value of sports, Bradley argues, is to be found not in the glare of the limelight or in the excitement of last-minute heroics but rather in the solitary hours spent practicing in the gym, or in the selflessness of a player whose priority is to make his or her team and teammates better. It is also about passion, sincerity and playing for the sheer love of the game. Far from being simply a forum for individual talent to showcase itself, sports require such determination and spirit that they cannot help but offer us important lessons about life.
Therein lies the true import of Bradley's book: ultimately, sports is a metaphor for life. If an athletic team is to succeed, each of its members needs to be dedicated to the team and not merely to his or her own vision of personal achievement. The same holds true, Bradley argues, for a group of co-workers, a government, or a family. Written from the unique perspective of a man who is a former basketball great, a three-time senator, an educator, a scholar, a husband and a father, Values of the Game insists that the true value of the game is found in what it can teach us about becoming better citizens, better family members and, above all, better people.
One of this country's most remarkable public figures, Bill Bradley has had a multifaceted career as an athlete, author, and elected leader. Born in Missouri in 1943, Bradley has since high school distinguished himself as both an athlete and an intellectual. He played three varsity seasons on Princeton University's basketball team and was a two-time All-American. During his senior year he was named College Player of the Year and helped lead Princeton to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. After graduation, Bradley decided to put his basketball career on hold for two years in order to attend Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. He returned to play for the New York Knicks, where he was an integral part of two world championship teams and an all-star. His experiences as a basketball player formed the basis for his celebrated first book, Life on the Run.
After retiring from basketball with a Hall-of-Fame career, Bradley turned his attention to another longstanding passion, government. Having lived in New Jersey during his career with the Knicks, Bradley ran as the Democratic candidate for Senator there and won handily. Upon arriving in office, he focused on issues such as tax reform and eventually established a reputation as one of the most intelligent and principled public servants in Washington. He was re-elected in 1984 in a landslide, and again in 1990 in a much more closely-contested race with future New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman.
Disillusioned with the partisanship and rancor on Capitol Hill, Bradley retired from the Senate in 1996. He taught at Stanford, the University of Maryland and Notre Dame, and authored two books, Time Present, Time Past: A Memoir, and Values of the Game. In 2000, Bradley re-entered the political arena, losing to Al Gore in a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. He then authored The Journey From Here, articulating his vision for the future of the country.
